Grain Elevator Transformation

The restoration team: A team of nationally-recognized architects and engineers worked to transform the Grain Elevator from its historically-rich past to an inspired and publicly-embraced future as the Door County Granary, a project by the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society. The lead architects are James Dallman and Grace La, of LA DALLMAN, based in Boston and Milwaukee. Jeffrey Beane, of Beane Engineering, a Sturgeon Bay native, is the lead structural engineer. Beane has been an associate with Silman, an award-winning firm located in New York. Greenfire Management Services, Milwaukee, is the construction manager. The restoration team consults with the State Historic Preservation Office. DEVOOGHT House Lifters facilitated the move of the grain elevator across the bridges and back to its original home and original height of 75ft.

The restored Granary has regained its place as a social hub for the community, serving as a three-season public gathering venue in the heart of Sturgeon Bay. Visitors are able to touch original wooden support beams and the lathed walls of the grain bins. A future winding staircase will provide access to the bins on the second floor and take visitors up to the headhouse, 60 feet or so above ground. Views of the bay, bridges, railway spur and surrounding area will help visitors conceptualize how the granary worked and why it was strategically situated where it was.

The Granary's ground floor (known as the workhouse) will serve as the grand entrance to the living museum, while periodically hosting free community programming, public events, and private gatherings. The community park next to the Granary has ample space for tents and food trucks to expand the Granary’s uses. A railway car-inspired addition off the side of the Granary, where actual Ahnapee & Western Railway cars once pulled up, includes a catering kitchen and public restrooms.

The preserved structure is an iconic and visible destination point and welcome center for hikers on the Ahnapee State Trail, the Ice Age National Scenic Trail and Sturgeon Bay’s Bridge Walk Loop. Illuminated from within, the Granary has been transformed from an abandoned landmark to a public architectural art installation to be celebrated another 100 years. It is a beacon that sheds light on Sturgeon Bay’s past and forms the centerpiece of its future.

“The opportunity to restore a historic building doesn’t come around often, especially for a unique building such as the Granary. We are honored to be able to have a hand in restoring an architectural gem of a building and create a space where people will gather, learn and celebrate.”
— Thomas Heinrich, Vice President of Preconstruction, Greenfire Management Services

1911

2016

2019

2023

 
 

The Story of the Door County Granary Project

The Teweles & Brandeis Grain Elevator was built on a dock. In the 1950s, the area around it was filled to create the shoreline that exists today. In 2015, the City sold the property for private development and voted to dismantle the Granary. In an effort to save it, the Sturgeon Bay Historical Society moved the Granary to a location across the bay. Concurrently, citizens petitioned the State to uphold the Public Trust Doctrine that protected filled lakebed as public land. They prevailed, and in 2019 new city leaders, the State’s first female majority council, voted to allow the Granary to be returned to its original location, now part of a waterfront park.

 
 

A rehabilitated, interpreted Door County Granary opened to the public in 2024.

By: LA DALLMAN Architects

What’s Next?

GET TO THE TOP of the Granary

Phase 3 plans are underway and SBHS is looking forward to constructing a visitor experience into the machine of the grain elevator. Accessibility with a lift to the grain bins, visitors will have the opportunity to wind through the massive 30ft cribbed grain bins and enter a series of staircases to the top of the headhouse where they’ll experience the highly intact grain chutes (highlighted in yellow) that fed the 19 grain bins to store up to 30,000 bushels of grain.

Help us GET TO THE TOP.

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